My name is Stephanie Daniel and I am the movement and music specialist at Rose Garden Elementary. As they say, I was not born in Texas, but I got here as quickly as I could…
I grew up in Petal, Mississippi with my parents, Joan and Eddie Martin, and kid sister, Brooke. I lived on Watkins Drive – named after my grandparents, Ruby and Willie. My entire family – aunts, uncles, and cousins lived on the very same street. I grew up driving tractors, riding four-wheelers, fishing, hunting, and just being an all-around redneck. It was BIG FUN!
I went to Petal High School (home of the Mighty Panthers) where I graduated in 1995. In high school, I was in choir and band. I played the clarinet and oboe during concert season and during marching season I was in the pit (xylophones, tympani, etc) and my senior year I was drum major. I also participated in many district bands, All-South Honor Band and the Mississippi All-State Lions Band.
I attended college at the University of Southern Mississippi. I studied clarinet with Mr. Wilbur Moreland, composition with Luigi Zaninnelli and participated in the Clarinet Choir, the Wind Ensemble, “Satchmo’s Kids” Dixieland Combo, the Pride of Mississippi Marching Band and Carrillon Handbell Choir. I graduated from college in May of 1999 with a Bachelor’s of Music Education degree.
In July of 1999, I married a most excellent man named William Daniel. He and I moved to San Antonio after accepting jobs here – his as a band director at Medina Valley and mine as the music specialist at Fernandez Elementary in Northside ISD. A few years later William became the band director at Wilder Intermediate School. We fell in love with this area, so I worked at Fernandez for one more year, then I accepted the position as music teacher at Rose Garden.
I quickly learned that college did not fully prepare me for the challenge of teaching elementary music! I have earned Levels I, II and III Orff Certification from Trinity University, Level I Elementary General Music Learning Theory Certification from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and MasterClass Orff Certification with Jos Wuytack at the University of Memphis.
The most wonderful part of my life is my son, Bennett! He was born on Saturday, March 12, 2005 at 2:33 in the afternoon. He is a very witty kid whose hobbies include: jumping off the fireplace, riding his scooter, watching Veggietales, and drinking water from the hose in the backyard.
So, what do I do when I'm not at Rose Garden? I am a member of River City Ringers Handbell Choir - if you've never seen handbells before, check out our website (look in the features column on the right) and come to a concert. It is very cool! I also serve on the Community Fine Arts Network (CFAN) board as Director of Elementary Programs. We put together things like the Artisan's Fair, Fine Arts Festival and the Young Musician's Camp.
As far as my hobbies go, my favorite is cooking. I love to read cookbooks and watch cooking shows. Luckily, William loves to eat so I can experiment with lots of different recipes. I also love antiquing. I collect white milk glass compotes:
So that's all about me...how about you?
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